News

Just because they wear Lycra, doesn't mean they are part of the cycling community!

Every stolen bike has a unique story after they are stolen, although many share a common theme in that they are quickly sold cheaply by the thief and further on sold to those that trade bikes.

Following the typical path, this Project One - Trek Silque (PV20195)stolen from a commercial garage in Brisbane on 13 December 2019, was advertised for sale within a few days on the Cycling Buy and Sell Australia Facebook page, for 10% of its market value.

Adverts for cheap stolen bikes, typically don't last long, as was the case with this bike. Watching this unfold, our best guess was that the bike was sold to either an innocent purchaser, who probably thought they had chanced upon the deal of the century (which typically means it is stolen), or a seasoned trader who saw the opportunity to make a buck from a stolen bike.

In this case, the latter appeared to be true, when within a few weeks, parts of the bike started to be advertised on Facebook by a known bike seller, who has come to our attention more than once before.

To wrap up this chapter of this ongoing story, we are very happy that as a result of good work conducted by Queensland Police, that the victim has been able to at least retrieve her custom frame and seat of her bike and a male has been charged with possession of stolen property.

The PropertyVAULT team will be following this case as it progresses and we will update on the result.

Some appreciative words from the bike owner

My striking bike was recovered by Property Vault's team of sleuth heros, keeping an eye on posts to second hand bicycle market places. The parts from my bike were tracked for months until final recovery. More than one person had a hand in the crime. Thanks Property Vault, I am thrilled with your achievements.

Can you help the police in this matter?

If you have any information in regards to the seller of this bike that may assist the police, or if you have purchased any parts belonging to this bike, we urge you to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Alternatively, you can post information via the Can You Help button attached to the stolen bike post on BikeVAULT, and we will ensure the information is passed on to the investigating police.

Protect your bike and your ownership

Don't settle for just a bike lock, choose a premium VAULT lock and ID KIT bundle, and not only secure your bike, but secure your bikes ID and your ownership for life.

Help us put the thieves & black market traders out of business

Bike theft is driven by the lucrative black market trade, aided by lacking bike identification, insufficient recording, and the inability for the public prior to BikeVAULT to check if a second-hand bike is stolen when advertised for sale.

Register your bike identification and your ownership in the VAULT for free and help us put the black market traders out of business an end targetted bike theft!

Not just bikes – You can now register all your assets vulnerable to theft in the VAULT, including your pets that commonly go walkabout! Check out our bespoke custom registration and stolen forms designed by asset identification and recovery experts.